How Green Becomes Wood

"Okay," she said, laughing, "He and his friend Jason decided, for some dumb reason, they were going to prank Jason's mom, so they texted her, from Benny's phone, that Jason was caught... being 'extra friendly' to himself in the back of their math teacher's class, and they were really explicit with the terminology they used, I saw the text. And of course Jason's mom called the school, who looked up the number the text came from who traced it to Benny, so the principal of the middle school had to call my mom, and the man was so embarrassed, and said, 'I'm not going to beat around the bush here,' really, and my mom went ballistic, and Benny got his phone taken away, she went through all of it, he's grounded..."
 
"That is such a random thing to do as a prank," Alec smirked, shaking his head. "Surely they didn't think they would get away with it."

"I think that's exactly what they thought," Peter smirked.
 
"Thirteen year olds are dumb. And to think Benny has made such a fuss about being a man since his Bar Mitsvah. I'm like, kid, you sang from the Torah but you still have Spider-Man sheets on your bed, you're not grown up yet. I'm not grown up and I'm 17." She sighed, taking a sip of water, "but I bet my mom will fold and give him his stuff back early. She always lets him off easy."
 
"I like being an only child sometimes," Peter mused.

"At least he's not your problem," Alec said cheerfully. He glanced at the clock. "It's almost time for the he'll to ring. I'm going to get a head start to beat the rush."
 
"Xander could probably use some company, though he'll never ask for it," Alec told her.

"I'll have to text him about practice times. I'm not giving that up until I have to," Peter said, dragging himself off the seat. "Later, Sloan."
 
"I'll show up uninvited, then. I'll see you later, Peter!" She said cheerfully, picking up her bag.

Milo, who hadn't joined them at lunch, bumped into Alec again in the hallway, "I heard someone say Xander got into a fight because the boys locked his girlfriend Alex in a closet? I presume there is a school-wide game of telephone happening. They didn't use his name, they called him 'that kid who attacked those seniors.'"
 
Alec sorted through that sentence in his head for a moment. "Huh. That's a good one," he said, genuinely impressed. "Yes, he got into a fight, and no, there's no girlfriend or closet. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I doubt anyone has the real truth to what happened. They certainly wouldn't tell the truth."
 
"I don't really care about what happened." Milo told him, some strange gleam in his eyes. "I knew he fought yesterday, I was with you when he left the bathroom. He's stopped me from getting my ass beat, so I know he doesn't kick the shit out of other kids for fun. That's all I care about."
 
Alec couldn't help it. He smiled and very nearly hugged Milo but remembered just in time that Milo wasn't really the physical type. "Thanks, Milo. I don't think you realize how nice it is to hear someone know that." He flushed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry. Being half of a double always throws me off until I get used to it."
 
"I don't know anything about that." He said, unresponsive to the way Alec almost hugged him, "I don't have any siblings. You know, if you and Xander really worked at it, you could probably trade places and only serve half a suspension. You would just have to cut your hair and both of you would have to start dressing in lose fit clothes to disguise your build." He shrugged, "For next time."
 
"We used to do that when we were younger," Alec remarked thoughtfully. "The problem is, and I'm semi-quoting someone else here who caught us at it, Xander's not good at being a strawberry, and I'm not good at being a red pepper." He started forward again. "So, how'd you hear about it? The fake version, I mean, I know you were there for the fact."
 
He smiled slightly, "I think I'm a kumquat. And you'd be surprised at what you hear when nobody even knows your name. If I left tomorrow you are the only two people here who would notice." He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground as they walked, "Two girls were talking about it in class. I'm taking science at the Junior's level, and since Xander is a sophomore and the other kids were seniors, I guess, none of them existed to the class as anything more than a story."
 
"Sloan would notice," Alec said without missing a beat. "Oh, and Peter, and Tom and Becky to a lesser degree, and some of your teachers, but... I hope you're not leaving tomorrow." He sighed, shoulders slumping. "Peter might be leaving, too."
 
"Egypt if his mother takes the job." Alec indicated a door. "Here's my stop." He smiled at Milo and gave his shoulder a quick little squeeze. "You should believe in yourself more. You're a cool guy no matter how much you try to hide it. See you later!" He turned and headed into the classroom to find his seat.
 
"I'm cool because I keep people at a distance, not despite of it." Milo protested softly, but said his goodbyes and slunk off to class. He hadn't been entirely truthful when he said nobody would notice when he was gone, he was fairly certain his bullies might, but only after he had been gone for a few weeks
 
The rest of the day seemed to drag and fly at the same time. Finally, it was time to go home. Alec made certain he had the assignments Xqnder would need for the next week - nearly and entire backpack full - and hurried to catch the bus. A short bus ride later, and he was running up the walk toward home.
 
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